YOUR 2012-2013 GOLDEN EAGLES....

								3 Bobby Chayka So. Defense 6-0 185 Hardwick, NJ Granite City Lumberjacks 4 Chad Cummings Fr. Defense 6-5 205 Caledon, ONT Wellington Dukes 5 Michael Zagari Fr. Forward 6-2 205 McKees Rocks, PA Jamestown Ironmen 6 Marcus Farmer So. Defense 5-10 175 Caledon, ONT Brampton Capitals 7 Chris Luker Fr. Defense 6-4 190 New Hartford, NY Buffalo Jr. Sabres 8 Matt DeLuca Jr. Defense 6-0 200 Skippack, PA Syracuse Stars 9 Shane Cavalieri Fr. Forward 6-0 195 Richmond Hill, ONT Toronto Lakeshore Patriots 10 Mike Hollander Jr. Forward 5-7 165 Thornhill, ONT North York Rangers 11 Chris Cangro Jr. Forward 5-11 190 Holbrook, NY NY Bobcats 12 Scott Fasano Fr. Defense 6-2 210 Mississauga, ONT Orangeville Flyers 14 Luke Colavecchia Fr. Forward 5-8 155 Brampton, ONT North York Rangers 15 Sean Wallace Jr. Defense 5-11 195 Rochester, NY New York Applecore 16 Troy Polino So. Forward 5-9 190 Limerick, PA New York Bobcats 17 Jonathan Demme Fr. Defense 6-3 190 Brampton, ONT Orangeville Flyers 18 Colby Spooner Sr. Forward 5-8 190 Hilton, NY Aquinas Institute 19 Steve Sachman Jr. Forward 5-11 185 Medford, NY New York Bobcats 20 Jeremy DeFazio Fr. Forward 6-1 195 Oakville, ONT Georgetown Raiders 21 Brendon Rothfuss Jr. Forward 6-0 190 Webster, NY Syracuse Stars 22 Mike Hayward C Sr. Defense 6-2 209 Toronto, ONT Vaughan Vipers 23 Bobby Conner Jr. Forward 5-10 193 Lititz, PA Philadelphia Junior Flyers 24 Jesse Facchini Fr. Forward 5-11 170 Mississauga, ONT Mississauga Chargers 26 James Ryan Fr. Forward 5-6 160 Richmond Hill, ONT Toronto Lakeshore Patriots 27 Kody Vaisanen Fr. Forward 5-11 180 Dundalk, ONT North York Rangers 30 Jared Lockhurst Fr. Goalie 6-0 185 Caledon, ONT Wellington Dukes 31 Aaron Green So. Goalie 5-10 175 Mt. Albert, ONT St. Michaels Buzzers 35 Joe Reagan Jr. Goalie 5-10 217 Yonkers, NY New York Bobcats 81 Chase Nieuwendyk Fr. Forward 6-0 180 Georgetown, ONT Trenton Golden Hawks 91 Logan Pfeffer Fr. Forward 5-10 165 Cranberry Twp, PA Mississauga Chargers

A LOOK AHEAD AT NAZARETH

A week from today's Brockport's hockey season starts as they play host to Nazareth, a brand new DIII team in Rochester that will no doubt become an annual non-conference foe for Brockport. Their match-ups could take on special meaning if Rochester-area bragging rights are on the line.

Nazareth's athletic department has put together a preview video of the team:

MORRISVILLE'S COACH RESIGNS

Here's some stunning news from a SUNYAC foe, especially with the start of the new season so close...


Morrisville State College head ice hockey coach, Brian Grady, has announced his resignation after five seasons at the helm of the program.

Under direction of Grady, the Mustangs posted an overall record of 35-88-3, as he guided the program to the State University of New York Athletic Conference play-offs twice. Morrisville State posted a season best 11-13-1 record in 2010-11 since making the transition to the NCAA, and was a program best 8-7-1 in SUNYAC play that same season, reaching the conference tournament for the second time in the program’s NCAA history.

Grady coached an all-SUNYAC honorable mention selection during his time at Morrisville State. Additionally, 43 student-athletes have earned SUNYAC All-Academic Team and/or Commissioner’s List honors.

The Mustangs get underway Monday (15^th) and take the ice for the first time Friday, Oct. 19, facing off against non-conference opponent Utica College in Utica.

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2012-2013 SEASON PREVIEW: THE YOUTH MOVEMENT

The playoffs were so close to the Golden Eagles last season that their fate was not decided until less than 8 seconds remained in the season finale against Morrisville. The controversy-marred game (2 very questionable calls put Brockport at a disadvantage in the closing moments) brought to a close what had been an exciting run for Brockport, one that nearly saw their third postseason in 4 years.

The 2011-2012 installment of the team really hit its stride around Thanksgiving and as the first semester closed out, Brockport pulled off a stunning upset, besting sixth-ranked Elmira in overtime. They overshadowed that masterpiece in February with a victory over perennial SUNYAC powerhouse Plattsburgh, beating the Cardinals for just the second time in 75 matchups and for the first time in 30 years.  Those big wins were highlights for the season and for an era.

The senior class was among the deepest and most storied in school history with the likes of Gregg Amato, James Cody, Ian Finnerty, Brett Jendra, Adam Shoff and Oliver Wren. Throw in junior Nick Panepinto -- who graduated a year early -- and you have an awesome collection of 7 men who produced not only last year, but did so from the very moment they set skate on Tuttle ice 4 years earlier.

They will all be missed by the team – and the fans. None may leave a bigger void than James Cody, who had a record-setting career at Brockport. He was a physical presence and an offensive threat, a rare combo at the DIII level. The two-time All-SUNYAC pick was last season’s SUNYAC Player of the Year and an All-American pick (the first in the program’s history).

Losing a dominant player like Cody to graduation was enough, but losing the others as well? The whole team changes. From Shoff’s guts to Wren’s Big Game focus to Finnerty’s clutch goals, there’s a lot of experience and history lost.

The team could really be considered to be in a rebuilding stage. But is it in the truest sense?

Brockport is chock full of sophomores, juniors and seniors who experienced last season’s stretch run and realized the little things – and the big things – that made the stunning upsets possible.

Consider the defense. The unit is led by All-SUNYAC defenseman Mike Hayward who will assume the mantle of team captain. He put up 14 points on the season, but, more importantly, he kept the SUNYAC’s premier forwards at bay. Then there are the likes of Matt Deluca and his wicked slapshot, and local products Colby Spooner and Sean Wallace who exhibit great defensive fundamentals and are savvy around the net. Last year’s “rookies” were pretty solid, too, guys like Bobby Chayka and Marcus Farmer who have learned the ropes of the NCAA rather quickly.

The forwards have some big skates to fill, but the remnants of last year’s team give us hope. Steve Sachman made good on the promise he showed in the juniors and racked up 16 points. His playmaking skills position him for a run at 25(+) in the coming season. His classmate Chris Cangro chipped in with 8 goals. I like his cerebral approach to the game, one that should see him break the 10-goal barrier. So should sophomore Troy Polino who netted 5 goals and saw more playing time as the season went on. Troy is a strong kid whose goals are of the athletic kind. Then there’s 2-sport star Brendan Rothfuss who is not afraid to take a wicked long-distance shot or get the blue collar goals by rushing the net (he, too, could light the lamp at least 10 times). And, don’t forget Bobby Conner. The red-headed fan favorite missed most of his sophomore season to a knee injury, but he was very productive as freshman and might just rebound for a 20-point season.

Then, there’s the net. Brockport is pretty solid there. As a freshman, Aaron Green pressed Oliver Wren for the starting role for a few weeks last season, and it almost looked like he might take it before Wren put on a goaltending clinic in the second semester. Aaron was the winning netminder in the historic Elmira game and followed it up with just 3 goals allowed against 8^th-ranked Neumann. He finished with a decent 4.10 GAA, a number he should take into the 3’s based upon how cool and unflinching he is in goal. Junior Joey Reagan’s save percentage fell to an .873 last season (albeit in just 163 minutes of play) but that belies his skills: He had one of the best seasons ever for a Brockport freshman goaltender, riding a sustained .900 for most of the season, before finally settling at .895.

Another positive in Brockport’s favor is the freshman. The only way to replace a stellar class of graduates is with stellar class of recruits. Time will tell, but at first glance, this bunch has the chance to accomplish as much as the graduates did…maybe more! It’s a deep bunch, each with a unique set of skills and a mental/character make-up that should confound the conference for the next 4 years. Any real hockey fan should feel like a kid in a candy store with this bunch.

Just look at them:

Logan Pfeffer: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/01/pfeffer-commits-to-brockport.html

Michael Zagari: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/02/physical-forward-zagari-commits-to.html 

Jonathan Demme: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/02/demme-commits-to-brockport.html

Jared Lockhurst: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/02/lockhurst-commits-to-brockport.html

Chase Nieuwendyk: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/03/joe-nieuwendyks-nephew-chase-commits-to.html

James Ryan: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/03/james-ryan-commits-to-brockport.html

Jesse Facchini: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/04/facchini-commits-to-brockport.html

Luke Colavecchia: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/04/colavecchia-commits-to-brockport.html

Shane Cavalieri: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/04/cavalieri-commits-to-brockport.html

Chris Luker:    http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/05/luker-commits-to-brockport.html

Jeremy DeFazio: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2012/03/defazio-commits-to-brockport.html

As the upperclassman continue to grow and utilize the experience gleaned in the past season, and the freshman live up to the potential they show, this should be an entertaining, even successful, season for the Golden Eagles. This new youth movement should position them for a run at the playoffs this season and extended runs into the future.

We’ll see what the season holds, but I would not be surprised to see them finish 5^th in the SUNYAC this year. The tools are there. They just have to use them.

The season begins on Tuesday, October 23^rd on home ice against Nazareth. Don’t miss it!! 


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CUMMINGS DRAFTED BY NATIONAL LACROSSE LEAGUE

Big defenseman Chad Cummings (6'5", 205 pounds) had committed to play for the Golden Eagles during this past spring.

A talented athlete, he was the 36th selection in the draft conducted by the National Lacrosse League on Monday night!

The NLL is the pinnacle of the sport, the same lacrosse league that is home to the Rochester Knighthawks and Buffalo Bandits. Chad was drafted by the Calgary Roughnecks.

A big congratulations to Chad!


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GETTING YOUR HOCKEY FIX IN LOCAL COLLEGES

In one of my hobbies I am an opinion columnist for the Greater Niagara Newspapers. I usually opine about government and politics. In next week's installment, I take a diversion from that and focus on the cure for the NHL lockout blues. Here it is....

GET YOUR HOCKEY FIX IN LOCAL COLLEGES

By Bob Confer

Living along the Canadian border like we do, hockey is an important part of local culture. Countless men, women and children lace up their skates every day across this region, while many more count themselves as rabid fans of the fastest sport in the world. That transcendent love for the game makes it even more popular in Western New York than America’s most-loved sport, football.

It’s only fitting that watching and listening to the NHL dominates our evenings, something that also offers a great diversion from the long, cold nights, keeping us from going crazy in the winter tedium. Unfortunately, the escape from life’s stresses afforded by professional hockey doesn’t look to be so certain this year as the NHL’s owners and players are locked in a labor impasse. There’s a very good chance that that a significant portion (maybe even all?) of the season might be lost.

No one knows for sure what’s going to happen and fans are already depressed about the possibility of a winter with no hockey.

Don’t be depressed. And, don’t allow the arctic season to be lacking in the sport.      

There are plenty of opportunities to take in a high-quality game. Look no further than our local colleges. Hockey fans have a number of them to choose from on the Niagara Frontier. Within a 40-minute drive of Lockport we have Division I programs in Niagara University and Canisius and Division III colleges in Buffalo State and Brockport. There are even more just a little further away within the Buffalo-Rochester area, including Fredonia, Geneseo, RIT, and Nazareth. All of them put competitive, exciting teams on the ice.

The DI teams play against some of the most-storied and highest-ranked universities in the country. You can watch gifted prospects and future NHL players play all out in their quest to win a championship and cement their legacies on the ice and catch the eyes of scouts. They play with a hunger not seen in the pro ranks. There’s always a good chance that these teams could play their way onto the national stage – just as RIT did a few years ago – and the magical Frozen Four.  

You will see an even greater passion played out on the DIII rinks. DIII hockey is one of my loves (especially at Brockport where you can catch me at most home games) since it doesn’t have the trappings of DI (athletic scholarships) or the NHL (people being paid millions). They play for the love of the game. That’s it. That love is evident on the ice. The game is much faster and more active than the NHL. There is a lot of contact. The players sacrifice themselves to win. Above all, it’s played extremely well: DIII kids aren’t pushovers. As a matter of fact, they might not even be kids. The times have changed and no longer do you see a lot of “true freshmen” (guys aged 17 or 18) on the ice. Most of them stuck around the juniors for a while and further honed their game. You’re watching men in their twenties playing at a highly-skilled level that many others could never come close to achieving.

The venues in which you can watch these affairs are homey, close to the action, and above all, cheap (something an NHL game could never be). For $5 you can watch a DIII game. DI tickets can be purchased for $12 or less, depending on any number of special deals. The foods in these places are actually affordable, too, on a shoestring budget.

So, don’t fret if there isn’t an NHL hockey season. You will still get a chance to watch some great hockey in the region. Even if the NHL doesn’t go on hiatus for any length of time, make it a point to attend one of the local college games. You might even develop a new love affair with the sport.

The seasons begin soon (in just 3 weeks at the DIII level), so check out the athletic department pages of the various schools’ websites for details.

Enjoy the games! 


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TREMBLAY IN FRANCE

Brockport hockey alumnus Ray Tremblay is now in Europe, having signed the with Asnieres Castors Hockey Club in the French 2nd Division. You can follow the club and Ray's adventures here: www.ahclub.info

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HOCKEY TEAM ASSISTS WITH MOVE-IN

The Coaching staff alongside returners Mike Baxter, Chris Cangro, Bobby Chayka, Bobby Conner, Matt DeLuca, Aaron Green, Mike Hayward, Mike Hollander, Chris Marinakos, Troy Polino, Joe Reagan, Brendon Rothfuss, Steve Sachman, Colby Spooner and Sean Wallace spent Friday, August 24 at Benedict and Dobson residence halls helping to move in some of the Freshmen class of 2016. The team assisted with unloading the new students belongings from their vehicles onto trailers pulled by golf carts and then moving everything into the students rooms.

  

The team assisted over 200 new students move their belongings into their new rooms. This was the eighth consecutive year that the Ice Hockey team has volunteered during Move In Day. In addition to providing a helping hand, the guys were very helpful in answering questions about where classrooms and offices were located as well as promoting the upcoming hockey season.

Check out this YNN news video about the incoming freshmen, featuring appearances by Coach Dickinson, Sean Wallace, and Troy Polino:

http://rochester.ynn.com/content/top_stories/596625/one-family-well-represented-in-brockport-s-freshman-class/

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DIII & DI MAY SHARE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKENDS

USCHO is reporting the following change to the DIII championship, something that has long been debated and considered:

The NCAA championship games of men’s Division I and Division III will take place in the same location and on the same weekend in 2014 if NCAA committees sign off.

The Division III men’s hockey committee has approved the 2014 finale to be played at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center on Friday, April 11 — the day between the Division I semifinals and championship game.

The move needs to be OKed by the Division III Championships Committee and the Division III Management Council, which next meets Oct. 15-16. The budgetary impact is expected to be one of the top questions from those groups.

Organizers with the Philadelphia bid have already signed off on adding the game to the 2014 schedule, and plans call for adding it to the bid specifications for future Frozen Fours.

It would be a big change for the D-III tournament, which, until 2008, had been almost exclusively played on campus sites. Lake Placid, N.Y., was the site of the semifinals and finals in four of the last five seasons and is scheduled to host again in 2013.



A lot of DIII enthusiasts are excited about the potential change in DIII hockey culture. I'm not. Whether at Lake Placid or campus sites, the DIII championship has always been accessible and affordable for hardcore hockey fans like me, the student bodies of the affected schools, and, more importantly, the parents of the competing students. That all changes with the hook-up with DI. Now the Big Game will be held at big cities, destinations that are expensive to get to and expensive to stay at.

For many of us, this change will inhibit, if not prevent, our ongoing attendance at the Championship. I know I for one won't be going to Phillie or other metropolises like Denver or Tampa.

That said, the 2013 weekend in Lake Placid may be my last DIII Championship....unless of course, Brockport makes it to one.

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CROWLEY COACHING IN ELMIRA

Timothy Crowley joins the Elmira College coaching staff as his first season as the Head Women's Golf Coach and Assistant Men's Ice Hockey Coach.

Crowley, a 2009 graduate of the College at Brockport, was a four year member of the Golden Eagles Men’s Ice Hockey team. He was a member of Brockport’s first playoff victory in school history. An assistant captain during his final year, Crowley was a SUNYAC All-Academic honoree. He also received the Bob Peterson Coaches Award as well as Brockport's Seventh Man Award.

After graduation Crowley was hired as the Assistant Men’s Ice Hockey Coach at SUNY Potsdam where the team qualified for the SUNYAC postseason in both the 2009-10 and 2011-12 seasons. Crowley served as the primary recruiter for the program where he brought in 23 recruits over a three year period. During his time with the Bears three players earned All-SUNYAC recognition and three members were named to the All-Rookie team.

Along with his coaching experience, Crowley leads by example off the ice as he helped find the Bears Stick it to Cancer and Hockey Day in Potsdam charities. While at Potsdam he assisted in Bears Back to Basics free community hockey clinics that ran once a month.

In his role as the Head Women’s Golf Coach, he is preparing for the teams return for the fall season that opens on September 8^th at the St. Lawrence University Invitational. 

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TREMBLAY TO STAY WITH DASHERS

Ray Tremblay is an alumnus of Brockport who had a fine career with the program, showing excellent playmaking skills for the Golden Eagles.

As the Bleacher Report says, he's been doing well in the pros and will try it again with his current team...


The Danville Dashers made their first roster moves for the upcoming season on Friday, signing forwards Ryan Stern, Ray Tremblay, Paul Weisser and Andrew Owsiak to professional try-out (PTO) agreements.

Stern and Tremblay are two of the longest-tenured Danville players—logging 69 games between them in the Dashers' inaugural season—on a team that dealt with a great deal of roster turnover, which saw at least fifty-five different skaters put on the Dasher black and gold. The duo also ranked second and third in team scoring respectively, combining for 62 points.

Tremblay, 26, will begin his second professional season after three years at SUNY Brockport. The British Columbia native was second on the Dashers with 15 goals to complement 13 assists in a team-high 41 games played.

The 5'10" winger wasn't as much of a goal scorer in college, totaling 15 goals and 35 assists in his three seasons as a Golden Eagle, but he certainly found a scoring touch in Danville and will be a key part of Rob Schweyer's offense in 2012-13.


Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1276590-fhl-danville-dashers-make-first-signings-for-201213

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JAY MELOFF TALKS TO PIERS MORGAN ABOUT THE AURORA TRAGEDY

FINNERTY SIGNS WITH RIVERKINGS

The Mississippi RiverKings' (SPHL) announced yesterday that Brockport alumnus Ian Finnerty, who had an amazing senior season -- and  brilliant Brockport career --  has signed with them for the 2012-13 season. Terms were not released.

"We're excited about having a player of Finnerty's ability added to our roster," said Head Coach Derek Landmesser. "He has good vision and is a strong two-way player."

After playing four years at the college level, the challenge of professional hockey excites Finnerty.

"I'm looking forward to get to the next level and see what it's all about," said Finnerty. "After speaking with Coach Landmesser, I'm in the right place to go after a championship."

Finnerty led the Golden Eagles with 36 points (11G, 25A) in 25 games last season.


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JAY MELOFF'S TWITTER

If you'd like to share your thoughts and condolences with Jay Meloff, his Twitter account can be found at www.twitter.com/Jay_Meloff

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AURORA TRAGEDY TAKES LIFE OF JAY MELOFF'S GIRLFRIEND

The previous post mentioned young Jay Meloff, who played for Brockport in the first semester of last season.

It's saddening to report that Jay's girlfriend was among those murdered in last night's shooting in Aurora, Colorado.

Here's the report from The Daily News....



An aspiring sportscaster who cheated death at a Toronto shopping mall shooting last month is one of the 12 dead in the Colorado movie massacre.

Jessica Ghawi was watching “The Dark Knight Rises” with a long-time friend when a gunman opened fire minutes into the the midnight premiere.

“MOVIE DOESN’T START FOR 20 MINUTES,” she wrote in her last Twitter post to a hockey writer pal.

Ghawi, who wrote under the name Jessica Redfield, worked for sports website Busted Coverage and her chilling final post on her personal blog describes her near miss at the Eaton Center mall shooting in Toronto June 2 where seven were injured and one died.

“I can’t get this odd feeling out of my chest. This empty, almost sickening feeling won’t go away,” Ghawi wrote. “I noticed this feeling when I was in the Eaton Center in Toronto just seconds before someone opened fire in the food court.

“An odd feeling which led me to go outside and unknowingly out of harm’s way. It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around how a weird feeling saved me from being in the middle of a deadly shooting.”

Ghawi grew up in San Antonio, Texas, but recently moved to Denver, her family told KENS 5 News.

Her firefighter brother, Jordan Ghawi, said he was woken by a call from his mother in the early hours of Friday who was “hysterical, and almost unintelligible,” according to a post on his website.

“I was able to contact the man that was with my sister, mutual friend Brent Lowak, who states that they were in the theater when an incendiary device was fired into the crowds and that shots rang out immediately afterwards,” Jordan Ghawi wrote.

“Brent further stated that he took two rounds and that my my sister took one round followed by an additional round which appeared to strike her in the head.”

Jordan Ghawi jumped on a flight from San Antonio and touched down in Denver Friday morning.

“Well this could easily be the worst night of my life,” he wrote on Twitter before taking off.

“It appears that my sister has been fatally wounded in a mass shooting at a movie premiere in Denver, CO."

Source:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/aurora-victim-jessica-ghawi-survived-toronto-mall-shooting-month-article-1.1118365

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JAY MELOFF PROFILED BY SB NATION DENVER

Jay Meloff played a few games with the Golden Eagles last year and is now preparing for the Denver Cutthroat's free agent camp.

His on-ice travels are profiled in a story for SB Nation.

The article notes why he left campus...

Jay decided to try his hand at the college level, choosing to play for Brockport State in New York because of the strong reputation of its hockey program. But policies on financial aid for Canadian athletes changed, and he found himself having to foot an $11,000 tuition bill for each semester. It forced him to make a hard choice: stay and exhaust his entire life savings or move on to another league. He chose to move on.

Afterwards....

Finding teams that would take him on a student visa was difficult. It’s an expensive process to change that status, and many organizations simply won’t deal with it. Because of his skill level and dedication, though, teams began expressing interest. Jay chose to skate with the Danbury Whalers for the remainder of the 2011-2012 season as he felt the team would offer him the best chance to bring him closer to his goals of playing in AHL and, after that, the NHL. He finished strong in Danbury, scoring three goals and five assists in 17 games.

Read the entire article online, where you can learn about his history and his hockey plans:

http://denver.sbnation.com/denver-cutthroats/2012/7/20/3168850/jay-meloff-denver-cutthroats-hockey

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WREN PLAYING IN AUSTRALIA

Standout Brockport goaltender Oliver Wren, coming off graduation and a second semester that was one of the best stretches of big-game goaltending that we've seen, is now playing in the land down under where he's making a name for himself as reported by Hewitt Sports....


Despite being on the wrong side of a 2-1 decision against the Bears, Oliver Wren is thankful for the chance he’s been given.

Fresh off a disappointing season with SUNY Brockport where his side went 9-13-3, Wren is happy to be back on the ice, even if it wasn’t where he originally planned.

Wren was back at home working out and contemplating joining the professional ranks in America and Europe when the call came from the Mustangs.

While he has only made four appearances for the men in Orange and Black he has been able to spot some differences in the league compared to NCAA despite the play being of a similar standard .

“It’s more of a free flowing game down here, NCAA is very much about the Power Play and the Penalty Kill.”

With Wren in the box seat to lead the Mustangs from the back for the rest of the campaign, he hopes to impart some of his wisdom on Fraser Carson and Michael James.

“They’re two great young goalies who are both willing to learn and hopefully when I leave they are going to be able to make me look good.”

If the form he showed on Sunday is anything to go by, Wren will end the season as one of the most respected net-minders in the league, with several of his heroic saves drawing admiration from the small, yet passionate crowd.

While he would love to be seen as one of the leaders oof the team he knows that he has a long road to reach that point.

“As an older guy you hope to be able to lead, but as a goaltender I need to worry about stopping the puck before I think about telling people what to do.”

That task starts next weekend when the Mustangs will place the leaders of their respective conferences the Ice and the North Stars, with the weekend a great opportunity for the side to influence who will be in Newcastle in the first week of September.

“They’re two great young goalies who are both willing to learn and hopefully when I leave they are going to be able to make me look good.”

 
Source: http://hewittsports.com/archives/5410

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